New Philosophy

Introduction

How well do “old” philosophers receive “new” philosophers?

This is, of course, not a matter of the age of philosophers. The old tradition remains robust, and its practitioners have repudiated each of these new philosophies as not real philosophy. Still, as their practitioners secure posts in philosophy departments, which they increasingly do, that dismissal becomes untenable. If someone who has been trained by philosophers publishes work in philosophy journals or books, is hired to teach philosophy, and identifies as a philosopher, that person is as much a philosopher as the bird that waddles, quacks, and swims is a duck!

The point is that philosophers customarily disagree and repudiate each other’s thoughts when they are among friends. So one would expect no less than this kind of reaction to the new philosophies who have diverged from the mainstream.